Matsumura no Jo are a set of 25 Kata derived and influenced by "Bo Jutsu",
which is the martial art of the long staff (about 6 feet). These
Kata are not well known. In fact, there are only two or three
people alive today who know Matsumura no Jo.

Where did Matsumura no Jo come from?

Matsumura was a woman!

During
the Tokugawa period, Jo Jutsu was practiced exclusively in Kyushu, as a
guarded and secretive art of the Kuroda Clan.

The
daughter of a man named Matsumura, an expert in Bo-jutsu, married the
Headmaster (11th or 12th) of Shinto Muso Ryu Jo Jutsu of the Kuroda
Clan.

Matsumura created Matsumura no Jo for his daughter, who was quite short,
and could not wield the Bo, long staff. He shortened the length of the
Bo, and modified the techniques which evolved into a set of unique kata.

The
daughter brought Matsumura no Jo with her when she married into the
Kuroda family, and these kata were incorporated into Shinto Muso Ryu Jo
Jutsu.

Until
the end of the Tokugawa Period (1870s), it was prohibited to teach or
demonstrate Jo Jutsu outside of Kyushu. Even after the the start
of the Meiji Period, which abolished the 4-class feudal system, Shinto
Muso Ryu still maintained its exclusiveness and would not allow Jo Jutsu
to be taught.

Even
throughout the 20th Century, public demonstrations of Shinto Muso Ryu
would only comprise a few kata, due to the continuing policy within the
Ryu to protect the knowledge of its techniques.

Therefore, Matsumura no Jo were often used when public demonstrations of
Jo Jutsu were requested.